Sighing in front of the bathroom mirror, I gave up on doing my hair and unlocked the door. I hated none moon days, there was nothing you could do to make yourself look better – it was impossible. Then again, it was only Maddy. My best friend. She wouldn't care what I looked like; even if I turned up to her house with my blonde hair in fluorescent ribbons and wearing a bin bag. She was just like that.

'Rhydian, love!' Mrs Vaughan shouted up the stairs, as the floorboard beneath my right foot gave away. 'Do you need a lift?'

'No thanks, Claire. I can make my own way,' I yelled back.

'Why, where's he going?' Mr Vaughan asked, probably from the sitting room. Particularly, the black leather recliner, three meters from the TV, at which will be displaying rugby. It sometimes scares me how well I know him.

'To his girlfriend's house.'

'She's not my g…'

'Maddy?' Mr Vaughan burst out laughing.

I rushed down the stairs, grabbing my coat from the banister.

Mr Vaughan was still laughing as we exchanged knowing glances.

'What?'

'She's not his girlfriend, love. He tells you over and over. Am I the only one who actually listens to the lad?' Mr Vaughan said.

She ignored him. 'Get in the car, and I'll get my coat,' she said, handing Rhydian the car keys.

'Did he not say that he'll make his own way…'

She cut him off sharply, 'Alexander..'

He flinched. Alec hated being addressed by his full name.

'…It's almost four! It'll be getting dark in the next three hours, I don't want him out that late. You…'

'Don't know who's lurking around the corners,' Alec mimicked. 'But I'm sure the Smith's will give Rhydian a lift back.'

Taking no notice of him, Mrs Vaughan dropped the keys into my palm and gave me a silencing look. I groaned in defeat, rolled my eyes mockingly at Alec, went outside, and climbed into the car.

Claire was always a pain, but in a good, caring way; if it's even possible to say so without contradicting myself.

She climbed into the car and took the keys from me to start the engine – the awkward silence commenced; and lasted for five seconds, as Claire broke the silence with yet another question.

'Rhydian, why do you lie to me?'

I spluttered; that definitely caught me off-guard. 'What?'

'I know there's something more going on than you're telling me,' she said matter-of-factly, casting me a sideways glance.

I began to sweat and loosened the collar of my polo shirt. 'There isn't,' I said, voice shaking. I couldn't get any more obvious.

'You see, you go to her house every Friday, and sleep over on varying nights, you never stop talking about her. And then when I ask you…'

'You're just overthinking it. Her parents invite me over for dinner, I'm too polite to refuse; and quite frankly, given that she's my friend, wouldn't say no anyways. She has sleepovers, of which Tom, Shannon and myself are invited. Tom and me in the den… I mean spare, Shannon and Maddy in her room.'

For once, Claire remained silent, as we rolled into Maddy's driveway. I pecked her on the cheek and climbed out.

'I'll pick you up at seven!' she yelled out of the window.

'Oh, there's no need,' Emma interjected, walking out to greet Claire.

'Mrs Smith, may I speak with you for a moment?'

'Sure.'

Maddy beckoned me inside, leaving Emma and Claire in privacy.

'Hey Mads…' I started, before being cut off by the slam of the door, and Maddy.

'Shhhh! Come on,' she hissed, excitement sparking in her eyes as she lead me up to her bedroom.

'What's going on?'

She pushed open her bedroom door and I was overcome with the aroma of lavenders. We stopped by her window, at which overlooked her front garden.

'Oh…'

She pressed her red painted finger to her lips and gently pushed open her window; the red curtains blew out in the December wind and whacked her in the face; we giggled in harmony.

'…the problem, Mrs Vaughn?' Emma asked. The conversation would have been impossible for ordinary humans to overhear, even through Maddy's open window.

'If anything's going on between your daughter and Rhydian…' The uncertainty was clear in her tone.

'What are you trying to suggest?' Emma said.

'I'd just like to know if there's anything going on that I don't know about.'

Maddy leaned in a bit more, to make the words more audible, and I could feel her warm breath on my neck, making every hair on my body stand on end; I shivered.

'You OK?'

I nodded.

'Oh,' Emma caught on. 'Of course, that's if we ever find out. You know what teenagers are like.'

Claire laughed, thanked Emma, got into her car, and drove away.

Maddy turned to face me, a small smirk playing at the corners of her lips. It was then when I acknowledged how close we were, as her eyes studied me. I could feel them bore down into my soul, as if searching for something missing, something none of us knew we even lacked.

Why was I staring at her lips? I shouldn't have been thinking about her like that, she was my friend. But all resistance just boiled away in the heat, the intensity of our gazes. Nobody moved, we just gazed at each other; as if it were enough. But it wasn't.

Her head tilted upwards as I leaned down in sync. I could feel the warmth radiate from her body, the light, almost non-existent, brush of my lips against hers, the brush of her long eyelashes against my cheek as her eyes fluttered shut.

'Maddy! Rhydian!' Daniel shouted.

We snapped apart, Maddy falling into her full-length mirror; my arms were there in an instant, circling around her waist and pulling her back up. She lunged upwards and into me, her hands gripping onto my arms to steady herself. She gasped.

'Are you up here?!' his voice neared, and I instinctively let her go.

'Ah, here you are,' he said, eyeing Maddy questioningly as she stood up from where she fell after I dropped her. 'Dinner's ready.'

We all filed out of her bedroom, me kicking myself for what just happened, and vowing it will never happen again. Never again.

But I was wrong.

I was so, so wrong.